A through-life costing methodology for use in product-service-systems

Availability-based contracts which provide customers with the use of assets such as machines, ships, aircraft platforms or subsystems like engines and avionics are increasingly offered as an alternative to the purchase of an asset and separate support contracts. The cost of servicing a durable product can be addressed by Through-life Costing (TLC). Providers of advanced services are now concerned with the cost of delivering outcomes that meet customer requirements using combinations of assets and activities via a Product Service System (PSS). This paper addresses the question: To what extent are the current approaches to TLC methodologically appropriate for costing the provision of advanced services, particularly availability, through a PSS? A novel methodology for TLC is outlined addressing the challenges of PSS cost assessment with regard to 'what?' (cost object), 'why/to what extent?' (scope and boundaries), and 'how?' (computations). The research provides clarity for those seeking to cost availability in a performance-orientated contractual setting and provides insight to the measures that may be associated with it. In particular, a reductionist approach that focuses on one cost object at a time is not appropriate for a PSS. Costing an advanced service delivered through a PSS is a problem of attributing the value of means to the economic activities carried out for specific ends to be achieved. Cost results from the interplay between monetary and non-monetary metrics, and uncertainties thereof. Whilst seeking to ensure generality of the findings, the application of TLC examined here is limited to a military aircraft platform and subsystems. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Comparative randomised trial of high and conventional doses of praziquantel in the treatment of schistosomiasis mansoni

The efficacy of oral praziquantel in the treatment of schistosomiasis has been considered low by most public health institutions. In this paper, we compared the efficacy of two dosages of praziquantel (80 mg/kg vs. 50 mg/kg) in patients with chronic schistosomiasis mansoni. Two hundred eighty-eight patients with schistosomiasis from a community in Brazil were randomly divided into two groups: 145 patients (Group 1) received 80 mg/kg body weight of oral praziquantel divided in two equal doses with 1 h interval and 143 patients (Group 2) received 50 mg/kg body weight of oral praziquantel. To keep the study masked, patients in Group 2 received placebo 1 h after the first dose. All patients were subjected to clinical and ultrasonographic examination. Cure assessment was performed by repeating two stool examinations, by a quantitative method, at 30, 90 and 180 days after treatment. The morbidity of schistosomiasis was low, with a few cases of light periportal thickening and 16 cases of mild splenomegaly. The cure rates were 89.7% for Group 1 and 83.9% for Group 2. There was no difference in the efficacy of both therapeutic dosages of praziquantel assayed. The adverse reactions were more frequent with higher dosage

New adipokines vaspin and omentin. Circulating levels and gene expression in adipose tissue from morbidly obese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vaspin and omentin are recently described molecules that belong to the adipokine family and seem to be related to metabolic risk factors. The objectives of this study were twofold: to evaluate vaspin and omentin circulating levels and mRNA expression in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues in non-diabetic morbidly obese women; and to assess the relationship of vaspin and omentin with anthropometric and metabolic parameters, and other adipo/cytokines.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>We analysed vaspin and omentin circulating levels in 71 women of European descent (40 morbidly obese [BMI ≥ 40 kg/m²] and 31 lean [BMI ≤ 25]). We assessed vaspin and omentin gene expression in paired samples of visceral and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue from 46 women: 40 morbidly obese and 6 lean. We determined serum vaspin and plasma omentin levels with an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and adipose tissue mRNA expression by real time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum vaspin levels in the morbidly obese were not significantly different from those in controls. They correlated inversely with levels of lipocalin 2 and interleukin 6. Vaspin mRNA expression was significantly higher in the morbidly obese, in both subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue.</p> <p>Plasma omentin levels were significantly lower in the morbidly obese and they correlated inversely with glucidic metabolism parameters. Omentin circulating levels, then, correlated inversely with the metabolic syndrome (MS). Omentin expression in visceral adipose tissue was significantly lower in morbidly obese women than in controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study indicates that vaspin may have a compensatory role in the underlying inflammation of obesity. Decreased omentin circulating levels have a close association with MS in morbidly obese women.</p